A Second Chance
by AstraGalactic
Summary: While on Tarazed, Dylan remembers an old friend. Please R&R!


Title: A Second Chance

Author: AstraGalactic  
Archive: Ask Please  
Disclaimer: Andromeda is not mine. If it was, Gaheris would be alive, and Dylan would be with Rommie.  
Rating: T  
Setting/Season: Post Series Finale.

Characters: D. Hunt, T. Rhade, Rommie, T. Gemini, etc.  
Summary: While on Tarazed, Dylan remembers an old friend.

A/N:

_Three months after the destruction of the Abyss._

_Location: Grand Plaza, Tarazed._

_Occasion: New Commonwealth celebration._

Dylan listened to the Ambassador go on and on and on...True, diplomacy had never been his favorite occupation, but at the moment, he was more distracted than ever. He knew he should be happy, and he was...for the most part...they had defeated the Abyss, the Magog worldship was no more...after so long a time in Seefra, they had finally returned to their universe... He even had his homeworld back.

He and his whole command crew had been given medals...Order of the Vedran Empress, in honor of their achievement and the important role they each had in defeating the Abyss. Yet somehow his thoughts and feelings were far from the triumphant joy that his mind knew should be there...far from the festivities going on around him.

Glancing to the side, he noticed Rommie socializing with a few Avatars, themselves shining stars of the Commonwealth fleet - and old friends of hers. Amazing that she had never voiced her own loneliness, yet when they had been alone in Seefra, Dylan knew without a doubt how alone she felt, without any of her own kind nearby.

Beka was socializing with a Nietzschean ambassador of one of their member worlds, and Dylan could not help but be slightly amused as due to her Matriarch status, the Ambassador was always a hair's breadth away from kneeling before her - to Beka's undying frustration. Frustration aside, Dylan also knew that Beka's status could finally heal the old wounds of war between the Commonwealth and Nietzscheans, and finally reunite the three galaxies...more or less.

Harper was with two Perseid scientists... of course somewhat-deservedly bragging about his genius.

Trance was not there - not really surprising, ...she was in Tarazed's capital garden, and Dylan was sure she would come back to the Andromeda with seeds or rootings of more plants.

Rhade was at home with his beloved family...finally, and Dylan was truly happy for him, happy that after all the hell Telemachus had been through, he finally had the ones he loved close to him.

Yet Dylan needed to be elsewhere in this moment...He saw his own golden opportunity to leave when another Ambassador came to talk to the first one...all of whose words had been lost on him, and excused himself.

Rommie noticed Dylan leaving and contacted him on his Com after he was outside the room. While she was still conversing verbally with the other two Avatars, in her mind she asked Dylan:

"Where are you going? Are you OK?"

Rommie had noticed that something seemed off...Dylan was brooding about something, but she did not know what...Dylan should be happy, but then again he had also had lost alot in his life and sometimes she knew that the pain of his past caught up with him.

Dylan's response held obvious pain within it: "I'm OK, I just need to be someplace else ... There's one thing I need to do ... while we're here."

Rommie frowned slightly, as Dylan walked away, and she wondered what was troubling her Captain, and best friend...but she could also tell from his tone that he did not want to be followed...He wanted to be alone.

Dylan walked through the fields of green grass and spring flowers, the cloudy sky as stormy as the burning pain in his own soul...finally coming to his destination... the burial ground of the Rhade family...where two years earlier, Gaheris's body had been taken for burial.

Dylan knelt before the ebony marble mausoleum that held Gaheris's body in permanent cryostasis.

On each of the four sides the Commonwealth symbol was engraved, as well as the words:

**Commander Gaheris Rhade.**

**Killed In The Line Of Duty.**

Below there was a listing of his many many achievements, the many medals he had won for his heroism in life. Around Gaheris's burial were the burials of his wives and children...

'Killed in the line of duty' Dylan thought bitterly...no-one but himself and Telemachus knew that Gaheris's life had been ripped from his body by a plasma-blast from his best friend's forcelance.

In that moment, Dylan had no choice...or so he had thought, but over the years anger had been slowly replaced by understanding...the understanding that Gaheris had never wanted to hurt him...never wanted to betray him...the understanding that Gaheris had always loved him, and that life had forced them to opposite sides...probably hurt him more than it had hurt Dylan.

With that realization the bitterness he had felt toward Gaheris for what had happened melted away, but its companion, the regret and guilt for killing Gaheris, had become more and more intense till it became an undying flame that was burning into his soul...day after day.

Dylan had often wondered...what would have happened if before firing that fatal shot he had stopped to think - or rather to feel - how much Gaheris meant to him. More times than he could count, Dylan had wished they had been both suspended in time together...the reality of the universe 300 years later more than enough to end their fight...but it had not happened. Gaheris was gone...dead by his best friend's hand..._'you killed him, Dylan...you tore out his heart...'_ he said to himself in his mind...and nothing would ever change that.

He had never told anyone, but his realization of what Gaheris had always been fighting for - what he had died for, was the reason Dylan had persevered in his struggle. Now he knew Gaheris was right about the Magog...that the old Commonwealth was not the perfect system Dylan had idolized...right that the universe was in danger... and now Gaheris was not here to fight that danger...not here to see the universe finally safe... because Dylan had killed him. In a sense, everything Dylan did, was to try to create the future Gaheris had dreamed of when he took his tragic path,...he owed it to Gaheris to try...to never give up.

Except Dylan also knew that nothing he did would ever make it right...nothing could ever take back the tragic fact that he had killed Gaheris...that he could have spared him, had he not been so shocked and furious that he had let it overpower his love for his friend. He had held the line for his friend's sake...and he would continue to do so...yet he could not escape the feeling that Gaheris should have never died.

Dylan reached out, gently resting his hand on the smooth stone ... its icy surface a reminder of death...

He crumbled against the side, resting his forehead against the cool marble as the memories of the last few moments of Gaheris's life...memories of his death flooded Dylan's mind.

He relived the tragic moments as he fell through the air, aiming his own weapon at Gaheris's chest...aiming to kill his best friend...and then the sound of Gaheris's wounded form hitting the deck.

Dylan remembered his blind rage give way to horror when Gaheris did not spring back to his feet...

Dylan had gotten up, only to find Gaheris dying, his body convulsing with agony as what was left of his heart tried to beat...and he struggled to move, too close to death to go far.

He remembered grabbing Gaheris by his raised right shoulder, turning him over to check on him, desperately wanting the person he loved to be okay, yet at the same time too angry to be gentle. He remembered feeling beneath his hands every muscle in Gaheris's body contract from the unbearable agony...and the pained gasp that escaped him.

He remembered Gaheris laying there before him dying, yet as he looked silently up at his friend, his lips slightly parted, Dylan could clearly see the emotions there. Despite his unbearable agony, despite the knowledge that he had lost everything - sacrificed everything, Gaheris's face showed a deep sense of peace and hope permeating his pain.

Dylan remembered Gaheris's eyes meeting his own as if never wanting to let go. He could see the love that was there, the deep emotion in Gaheris's words: "I'm proud of you..." the words that Dylan felt meant so much more...so much Gaheris could not say. He had seen the one tear that had trickled from Gaheris's eyes into his dark hair...from those eyes that held so much emotion ... sorrow, loss, pride...even happiness, but most of all love. He remembered Gaheris closing his eyes forever, as he leaned against Dylan's hand...wanting that contact with his friend in the time he had left.

Dylan had seen Gaheris's love through his pain...but in that moment, he never told Gaheris goodbye...never told him the one thing he would never forgive himself for keeping silent: _That he loved him...that he was sorry._

Dylan opened his eyes, only to close them again weeping, crouching against the black marble that separated him from Gaheris, crushed by the magnitude of his pain. After what seemed like an eternity, the tears flowing like blood from a wounded heart, Dylan opened his eyes again, drawing a ragged breath, his chest heaving with sobs.

He whispered: "Gaheris... "

Dylan fell silent, too choked with tears to continue. When he was able to speak again, he went on, his voice barely a whisper...

"I miss you, ...I wish you were here with me now..."

He sighed deeply, and continued:

"I'm so sorry... sorry for what I did to you...

You are the best thing that ever happened to me...

I just didn't realize it in that fatal moment...

and now, now that I understand, it is too late.

...

I love you Gaheris...I always will...

and I know you always loved me..."

He glanced up at the sky, and then back down, saying quietly:

"The universe is safe now...safe from the Abyss, safe from the Magog...

I know that's all you ever wanted... and I wish you were here now to see it."

Dylan sighed and whispered: "I wish I hadn't taken everything from you...I wish I hadn't taken your life..."

He continued:

"Everything I have done... has been for you, because all you ever wanted was to see the universe safe ... I owed it to you to try ... yet I know that no matter what, nothing I do will ever make things right again..."

Dylan reached into his pocket, pulling out the medal he had been given the day before, and carefully laid it on top of the dark marble.

He whispered:

"This should have been yours ... for wanting to make the universe safe ... for what you fought and died for."

Dylan leaned against the cool marble again as he whispered:

"It was an honor knowing you...an honor being your friend...

I just wish you were here now...alive.

I'd give anything to see your smile again...anything to hear your voice...

anything to give back to you what I took from you...

I'd gladly trade my life for yours, Gaheris."

Dylan fell silent, weeping.

Telemachus Rhade made his way through the gathering in search of his best friend - Dylan, who was nowhere to be seen.

He did see Rommie there, now by Harper's side, and approached her.

The Avatar smiled slightly as she caught sight of Telemachus. He had shaved and cut his hair short, looking just like the amazing young man they had met when they first came to Tarazed - if only a little older - a little less innocent, courtesy of Seefra. He greeted her with his always soft smile, and then asked: "Dylan?"

Rommie stepped to his side, steering him away from the crowd, and then in a voice so quiet only Telemachus could hear - thanks to his Nietzschean physiology - she said: "I'm glad you came, Telemachus. Dylan left a while ago. He said he had to go somewhere...that there was one thing he needed to do while we were still on Tarazed...but he seemed ... unhappy."

She looked at the concerned Nietzschean, and added: "I did not follow him because it seemed he didn't want me to...but I'm worried."

Rhade laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and said: "Don't worry, Rommie...I'll find him." He left her with a smile, his powerful strides carrying him toward the building's exit.

Deep down inside, Telemachus knew where Dylan had gone...to see his friend...

He'd known Dylan still cared for his old friend...despite what had transpired between them...

But first, he'd try and check with the Government offices, in case Dylan was meeting with some officials.

Telemachus picked up his Com unit as he walked toward the place his ancestor's body had been laid to rest.

From the depths of his pain, Dylan became aware of a golden light behind him, and lifted his head to see Trance's form coalesce.

She silently stepped to his side and knelt beside him, saying softly: "You miss him, don't you?"

Dylan closed his eyes trying to suppress the unbearable pain that filled him, and said, his voice barely a whisper:

"This was his dream... All he ever wanted was to see the universe safe...and now it is, at least from the Abyss, the Magog... but he's not here to see it, because I killed him..."

Trance said, despite the pain that showed in her eyes - the pain that had never left her since she had sent Gaheris to his death:

"You did what you had to do..."

Dylan sighed bitterly:

"Maybe, but even so that's little consolation... We loved each other more than anything...and life just had to tear us apart."

He went on, sorrow evident in his trembling voice: "He was twenty-seven, Trance...to a Nietzschean lifespan of 150 years, he barely lived a fraction of his life ... and because of me he lost everything... I just wish he was here with me ... I wish we had a second chance to be together... I wish he could have his life back..."

Dylan sighed, utterly broken down: "All we ever wanted was the same thing in the end... I just didn't realize it then... Now it's too late."

Trance said gently: "Now you understand."

Dylan sighed: "I understand he loved me...I understand that he never wanted to hurt me...I understand what his dream was... But some things I'll never understand..."

Dylan looked up to meet Trance's eyes:

"...such as why did I survive when I should have died? ...Gaheris could have won..."

He fell silent, clearly waiting for an answer, hoping Trance could solve the mystery for him, but she shook her head softly and replied:

"So he could have...but you cannot understand... you'll just have to settle for not knowing, Dylan ... It's for the best...But know this: You understand why he did what he did, you understand that he loved you... that's all Gaheris would have wanted."

Dylan whispered, defeated: "But nothing changes the fact that I took everything from him...and now no-one even knows what he fought for...no-one knows that in his own way he was a hero."

Trance laid a comforting hand on his shoulder saying, the moment she had taken Gaheris back in time - back to cause his own death...'It's up to you now.' as clear in her mind as the moment it happened:

"He knew...and he also knew that the love you shared would survive...that eventually you would understand. That was enough for him."

Dylan rested his forehead against the cool marble again, weeping inconsolably, as Trance went on:

"Gaheris would be proud of you ... and happy that you survived ... happy that you made his dream come true..."

Trance looked at her friend, her protector, crushed by a burden that would never leave him alone...

Perhaps it was time for him to know the truth... perhaps now he was ready.

Trance took hold of his shoulders, gently but firmly turning Dylan to face her, and said to him, her voice calm but also sorrowful:

"Dylan, listen to me."

Dylan reluctantly lifted his tear-filled blue eyes to meet hers, and she said:

"You and Gaheris shared something truly precious... a bond deeper than the universe itself ...timeless. You always belonged together."

Dylan closed his eyes, futilely trying to suppress the river of tears that started to flow.

"But you were separated by circumstances...circumstances that shaped what had to happen...

In a sense, Dylan, what happened in this universe was necessary... to save the universe, the right person in the right place at the right time was needed..."

Dylan replied bitterly: "So someone decided one of us had to die? "

Trance could feel the sarcasm in his tone, over the deep sea of sheer agony.

She answered, the pain in her voice evident... the same pain she had felt when she had last spoken to Captain Gaheris Rhade... 'No, It's just the universe...it is what it is, and you're the only one that can change that.'

"No, Dylan. It's just the universe, it is what it is, and sometimes no-one can change that..."

Trance gently put her hand on the side of his face, turning him to look straight into her eyes, as she spoke to him - a ray of hope entering her voice, a slight respite from her own pain, thinking of her own actions...what she had done when Gaheris died...She had owed it to him to make up for the enormous sacrifices he had made for the universe, for love. She wanted to make up for the lifetime of sorrow and pain he had experienced... by giving him another chance at happiness.

"What happened there...two people who loved each other more than anything forced to fight each other... hurt you both in a way that would never heal. It didn't matter who lived or who died...both of you had your hearts broken... both of you had the person you loved most torn from you."

Dylan protested: "But I survived...I had the chance to go on, to seek happiness. Gaheris did not because of me..."

Trance answered, her tone filled with pain again: "To seek it, perhaps, but will you ever find it..."

Her statement was more a fact than a question, yet Dylan answered anyway: "No."

Trance replied: "And neither would he...except it was worse for him, because he blamed himself for all that was lost ..."

Trance went on, breaking off from the line the conversation was taking, and steering it back to what she needed to say... what he needed to know:

**"But sometimes, Dylan... When two people share what you had... a love that was so true and deep it could extend beyond the barriers of time itself, a love that made anything possible, and fate has forced them apart, the Universe gives them a second chance... another chance to share a life together... a chance to heal the wounds that both souls suffered."**

Dylan frowned in confusion as she smiled sadly and went on:

**"You and Gaheris have this...you merited it because your love was so strong it survived everything."**

Dylan managed a shocked, and utterly lost: "What do you mean?"

Did she mean that he and Gaheris would be together again when he died?

It did not seem like that was what she meant... but what else was there... Gaheris was gone forever... and nothing could change that. No matter what nothing would ever undo that one tragic mistake.

Trance looked up toward one of the grassy hills nearby, and smiled mysteriously as she turned back to Dylan and said: "Someday you'll understand."

She stood up, and vanished into the sunlight before his eyes.

Dylan sank back into his misery, leaning his side against the dark marble and weeping, his arms wrapped protectively around his chest, utterly vulnerable in this moment.

He did not know why Trance said what she said, or what it meant...only that there were no second chances - there could never be. All hope that things could ever be right again had died the moment Gaheris had fallen silent, the moment that last tear had been shed as Gaheris had leaned against Dylan's hand...dying.

The forcelance blast had ripped apart Gaheris's heart...there was no way he could survive ... In that instant, Dylan wished he could have reversed time, done things differently, but it was too late ... just as now it was too late. There was no way things would ever be right again, because Gaheris had died by his hand and nothing would ever change that.

Just as Telemachus had suspected, Dylan was not at any of the government offices. He had a while ago put away his COM, and finally was approaching his destination: The burial ground of his ancestors. Coming over the green grassy hill that led into the peaceful valley, Telemachus stopped in his tracks as he took in the sight before him: his captain leaning against the tomb of the person he had loved the most, and yet had been forced to kill, crouching under the sheer burden of his spiritual pain... weeping inconsolably for what he had lost, without hope, without dreams.

He looked upon the man who had managed to keep his hope alive in Seefra, even if it was just a tiny flicker in a universe of lost hope, the man who had managed to slowly but surely bring hope back to his lost crew, and even managed to shine a ray of light into his broken heart by believing in him.

Dylan, the walking seminar on teh bright side of life now utterly broken down by his own eternal pain... the flames of lost love and regret tearing into his soul.

Telemachus could sympathize... he had walked the hallway of broken dreams where lost love found him and threw her chilly arms around him... he too had suffered the loss of one person he loved too many.

His own words came back to him:

"On this soul. Cast a cold eye on night.

All that I love pass by...my sight."

...and other words, ones he had never said, yet somehow remembered...

"Story of my life"

"I learned the hard way. You shouldn't cling to things you cannot change."

The last one, his own voice speaking to him, filled with pain, pulled him from his own memories, reminding him to live in the present, and cherish the gifts it brought.

He also understood how deeply Dylan had loved Gaheris. He could see in Dylan's eyes, mingled with the pain of that loss... and understood it because he felt that same love for Dylan.

From the first time they met, he had always felt unexplainably connected with him. He had not known Dylan, yet fighting him to protect his people, was the hardest thing he had ever done, and when they parted, he was truly grateful they had not been forced to opposite sides. Over time his strange and unexplainable feelings had grown by themselves into a pure deep eternal love... as if they had known each other for years...in another time, another life.

Telemachus was sure he could do nothing for Dylan's pain...he was not even certain if he should interfere, of if his own appearance would remind Dylan more of his long-lost friend... but knowing that his friend was hurting, he could not keep himself from going to his side, even if all he could offer was the knowledge that he would always be there for him.

Silently he descended the hill, his Nietzschean senses and stealth leaving Dylan completely unawares of his approach, though he doubted Dylan would have heard his approach between his endless sobs anyway.

Finally he stood by Dylan's side, for the first time completely unsure of what to do... Hesitantly he crouched by his friend's side, gently laying his hand on Dylan's forearm and calling his name: "Dylan."

Dylan's eyes flew open in shock, and he twisted to see the person by his side... For the briefest of moments it felt as if he had seen a spirit...one he loved, one long dead.

Memories filled his mind of the day he had first met Gaheris... despite their arguments, when he had been shot and he had fallen, he felt the comforting warmth of Gaheris's hand which rested gently on his forearm, comforting him, silently conveying through that simple touch that he cared for him.

He remembered Gaheris's words: "We should have come in firing." and the look he had replied with, but beneath that Dylan knew what Gaheris was not saying: that he cared for him, that he had not wanted him to be hurt.

Dylan looked into the deep brown eyes that gazed back at him, seeing the unspoken emotion there, the concern for him, the love... he felt again the warmth of a strong hand gently resting on his forearm... comforting him, protecting him, and the emotions that lay beneath the gesture.

For the briefest of moments he wondered into whose eyes he was looking? Who was there by his side, giving him his strength...being his guardian angel.

He stared captivated at the person whose image had been burned into his heart forever by the fire of love... His deep brown eyes, his almost black silky hair that stood up in spikes... his unmistakable face. For a moment, Dylan saw what he wanted to believe the most... before the bitter reality burned into his heart and mind... as he remembered Gaheris's death, and knew that Gaheris could never again be by his side.

Telemachus knelt on the grass by Dylan's side, reaching with his left arm around Dylan's shoulders, and pulling him close. Despite his pain, Dylan could feel the light of Telemachus's presence bringing warmth and hope to his despair. He leaned against Telemachus's chest, turning his thoughts toward his friend who had come for him and knelt there silently held by his friend's arms, letting out a sigh wracked by silent tears.

Telemachus asked quietly: "You miss him."

Dylan slowly nodded, as he replied, his voice barely a whisper:

"I loved him."

He turned slightly his head to see Telemachus, and went on: "All he ever wanted was to see this day... the universe safe from the Magog."

Dylan turned back to face the tomb, his voice breaking as he spoke: "This was his dream...but he isn't here to see it because the person he loved killed him..."

Telemachus rubbed his shoulder reassuringly, as he said softly, some sorrow seeping into his own voice:

"Dylan, you were not given much of a choice, and I know this much: Gaheris would be proud of you."

Dylan whispered bitterly: "I know. He said he was... he said I should be..."

Telemachus smiled sadly as he said: "He meant more than that, Dylan. He wanted you to go on with your life instead of tormenting yourself with regret."

Telemachus continued, holding his best friend close to his heart:

"If he was anything like me... then he would rather die than have to kill you, and what he meant by those words but could not say was that he loved you... and he wanted you to be happy."

Dylan cast his tear-filled eyes in Telemachus's direction, whispering sadly:

"You're more like him than you know... "

He dropped his gaze, whispering, his voice barely audible because it was choked by tears:

"He was the best part in me... by his side it was the only time when I truly was alive... because he loved me. Now he is gone forever... my hand the one that took his life ... how can I ever find happiness when without him, I am so... alone?"

Telemachus pulled him into his embrace, and cradling Dylan's head against his heart, he bent over and whispered to Dylan who was weeping in his arms:

"Dylan, I know there is nothing I can say that will take your pain away... but know this much. You are not alone... this I promise you."

Dylan twisted around to embrace Telemachus who wrapped his arms protectively around his friend...so strong yet so vulnerable in this moment, and whispered: "You will never be alone... even when everything is said and done, love is the only promise that remains"

He held Dylan close as he wept, untill eventually the tears subsided, knowing from Dylans words that Dylan had finally forgiven Gaheris - that in the end he remembered him as his friend - and for reasons Telemachus could not figure out, that knowledge gave him a strange sense of peace - as if an invisible burden had been lifted off him.

A light rain started to fall, as the sun moved towards its setting point. The mist in the air, the cloudy blue-grey sky, so beautiful to Telemachus he could have sat there forever... as sometimes he had when he needed to find peace for his soul. But remembering how cold nights on Tarazed were in the springtime, and not wanting Dylan to get sick - without the bioengineered immune system that he had, he gently said to Dylan: "Come on, let's go."

He slowly got up, one arm still behind Dylan's back, gently guiding him back to the place they were staying on the planet: Telemachus's home. As they ascended the hill, misted by the gently drizzling rain, Dylan said softly: "Thank you."

Telemachus knew what he meant... thank you for giving me hope, for being there for me... he smiled: "Any time."

As the rain became a torrent, Telemachus steered them both under a giant tree, knowing that this variety of torrent would only last a few minutes, since he had grown up on the planet...

Dylan asked Telemachus: "How did you know where to find me?"

Telemachus answered: "I had come looking for you at the gathering, but you were not there, and Rommie said you had left to do something you needed to do while you were here... and that you seemed sad...

She had wanted to come looking for you, but felt that you wanted to be alone."

Dylan smiled slightly and asked: "How did you know where I was?"

Telemachus replied, a deep note of sorrow in his voice: "If the roles were reversed, it is where I would be."

Dylan's eyes filled with tears as he remembered the only one person he had ever met before who understood him so well: Gaheris. Pushing away his thoughts, he asked: "So, why had you come looking for me initially?"

Telemachus replied: "Now that we are back, and the Commonwealth seems to have put its affairs in order, you will have a crew again... but can I still serve on the Andromeda? Can I still be part of your crew."

Dylan smiled, replying: "I'd be glad. You're always welcome, but I thought you were going to stay home?"

Telemachus Rhade was silent for a moment, then he admitted: "I thought Tarazed would be destroyed... That's why I stayed here... I did not want to survive the loss of my family again."

Blinking away the tears that filled his eyes, thinking of those he had loved and lost, those he had tried to protect... His family, Louisa...Ashael. Yet now a miracle had restored his family to him...

"But now that impending threat is gone... and it is by your side that I belong."

Dylan smiled, tears of joy mingling with those of loss in his eyes, as he turned to face Telemachus saying, as he saluted: "Lieutenant Commander Telemachus Rhade. Welcome aboard."

Telemachus returned the salute, and then smiled slightly... The way they acted around each other... a complex mix of deep friendship and highguard protocol leaving so much left unsaid.

His smile melted away to a soft sincere expression as he looked into Dylan's eyes, deciding to at last say what he truly felt, in a voice deep with emotion:

**"Thank you, Dylan... It's an honor to serve with you...**

**And an honor to be your friend."**

He offered his hand, which Dylan took, pressing their veins together as they held each other's forearm... as suddenly realization dawned on Dylan. Those were the exact words that Gaheris had said to him once... the day he had let Dylan see into his soul...

Looking into Telemachus's eyes, Dylan at last understood... his best friend was here with him right in that moment.

_"...Thank you Dylan. It is an honor to serve with you... and an honor to be your friend."_

_"... the Universe gives them a second chance... another chance to share a life together... "_

_"You're more like him than you know... "_

Gaheris's words, Trance's words, and his own came flooding back to him... as he looked into Telemachus's eyes, seeing into his soul... and recognizing the person he had loved... the eyes he had gazed into those 300 years ago.

His eternal regret was that he had never replied to Gaheris's words.

Now Dylan knew he had his chance to make that right...**Their Second Chance**:

His eyes filled with tears, as Dylan whispered with a soft smile: **"The honor is mine."**

As the rain stopped, and the sun burst through the clouds, bathing everything in a golden glow, Dylan embraced Telemachus weeping ... this time tears of joy. What they had lost so many years ago was restored. They had their second chance to be together, and this time nothing would ever take that away from them. Whatever the future held, Dylan and Gaheris would face it together.

Every emotion he had ever felt for Gaheris bubbled to the surface, as he wept in Telemachus's gentle embrace. The pain he had lived with for so long... the pain of what they had lost, now healed by the knowledge that they were together again, dissolving into the brilliant light of their love.

Holding Dylan close, Telemachus found himself weeping too, tears of sorrow, but also of joy, of love fulfilled, of hope. Somehow he had understood something he did not consciously know... and for the first time in his life he felt truly complete... truly alive.

When they separated, Telemachus gently asked Dylan: "Are you OK?"

Dylan smiled through his tears, and looking into his best friend's eyes said: "Now I will be."

Stepping out from under the tree since the rain had stopped, they stood side by side, Telemachus's left arm behind Dylan's back, and Dylan's right arm across his shoulders, the friends gazed back at the valley they had left, the misty air itself glowing golden in the light of the sun.

A brilliant sparkle of sunlight reflected off the medal Dylan had given Gaheris, like a brilliant star in the heavens... Dylan's gaze fell upon the ebony mausoleum, and for the first time he felt at peace... knowing as he turned away that it was not goodbye, because they were together at the end of this long journey, just as they had been when it started.

Together they watched the sun set, the majestic colors spread across the sky.

A perfect day... hope reborn.

Dylan whispered: "It's beautiful."

Telemachus smiled, as he leaned his head against Dylan's shoulder: "Yes, it is."


End file.
